Birkirkara 1
Haruna 79;
Tarxien Rainbows 0

This fixture presented Birkirkara with an opportunity to open a three-point lead at the top of the standings before turning their minds on this evening’s match between fellow title contenders Hibernians and Valletta, the outgoing champions.

Today’s game brings to a close the official league calendar but an extra match may be needed to determine the destination of the championship if the Paolites beat Valletta and join the Stripes on 45 points.

Birkirkara had to deal with a gritty performance by Tarxien who took the field in the right frame of mind, proving a hard nut to crack despite having nothing more to ask from the league.

There is a pattern to Birkirkara’s campaign.

The irresistible attacking football was most conspicuous in the early part of the season. Its hallmark was the skill and speed of Shodiya Shola Haruna and Jhonnattann but, since January, coach Paul Zammit has also significantly improved his side’s defending as Birkirkara can now rely on a rock-solid rearguard.

When Birkirkara’s afternoon was becoming rather complicated yesterday, Haruna came to his side’s rescue to seal the points.

The Nigerian scored the most important goal of his Birkirkara career so far and, as nerves settled, the leaders even came close to a second goal late on through substitute Jhonnattann.

Zammit had the benefit of selecting his team from a full squad. But his choice underlined his loyalty to the old adage ‘never change a winning side’ as he confirmed the same line-up that began the 1-0 victory over Valletta, the previous weekend. The returning Zach Muscat and Jhonnattann were left on the bench.

Tarxien coach Clive Mizzi decided to reshuffle his formation in this end-of-season outing as Steve Sadowski, Justin Grioli and Gianluca Calabretta were excluded from the initial formation with Carlo Mamo, Ryan Sammut and Steven Bonnici taking their places. Leandro deputised for Andrew Agius who was serving a one-match ban.

Mizzi tried to match the Stripes’ customary 3-5-2 with a dense cover in which Orosco Anonam switched to midfield alongside Manuel Caruana. Up front, Leandro was the lone forward in Tarxien’s 4-2-3-1 formation with fellow Brazilians Daniel Mariano Bueno and Andrezinho providing support from behind.

Inside the first minute, Joseph Zerafa ran into the box after exchanging passes with Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza but the Birkirkara left-back drilled his effort across the face of goal.

On 10 minutes, Birkirkara fashioned another chance when Rowen Muscat collected a loose ball inside the box before he unleashed a fierce shot over the bar.

Gareth Sciberras and Zerafa combined well on the left to slip Mifsud Triganza through on goal but the latter fired wide of the far post after 25 minutes.

The lively opening persisted, Mifsud Triganza running through on the right before hitting a low drive that missed the target.

Having weathered Birkirkara’s early flurry, the Rainbows started to share the exchanges as the Stripes lost their early rhythm. Tarxien deserve credit for their positive response and it took a superb tackle by Rodrigo Pereira to repel Leandro’s effort on 40 minutes.

On the stroke of half-time, Birkirkara almost broke the deadlock. Tarxien custodian Nicky Vella mistimed his sortie as the ball fell into the path of Haruna who shot just over the bar.

Spotting Zerafa’s strong overlaps, Mizzi brought on Grioli at half-time to try and curtail the Birkirkara speedster’s influence.

The Rainbows were more intent on keeping Birkirkara at bay than to create some problems of their own up front. Their prudent approach certainly conditioned the flow of play as the Stripes laid siege to Vella’s goal without, however, troubling their stubborn opponents.

On the hour mark, Haruna sped clear of his marker but Vella came off his line to leap at the feet of the Nigerian. Mifsud Triganza followed the action but Bonnici produced a vital block to clear the danger.

Two minutes later, Birkirkara were dropped a lifeline when defender Branislav Timotic received his second booking for simulation after he went down in the box following a challenge by Pereira.

Yet, Birkirkara were unable to make their superiority count and at this point, Zammit introduced Jhonnattann to give thrust to the front line.

For all their endeavours to transfer the ball to their strikers as quickly as possible, Birkirkara were caught unawares at the back as Leandro showed great skill to twist and turn past Alejandro Mendoza before testing Justin Haber with an effort destined to the near corner. However, the goalkeeper stretched fully to claw the ball away.

From the corner, Birkirkara won possession and, exploiting the gaps in their opponents’ half, substitute Ryan Camenzuli sped towards goal before squaring to Jhonnattann who shot straight at Vella.

But there would be no mistake at the end of the Stripes’ next foray inside Tarxien’s half.

A good passing move culminated with Edward Herrera floating in an inviting cross from the right. Mifsud Triganza took one touch before seeing his shot blocked but Haruna clipped the loose ball first time and his looping effort flew behind Vella and into the net.

The significance of the occasion appeared to take its toll on the Tarxien players as, at death, Jhonnattann broke clear on the left but his effort was turned away by Vella.

The referee’s final whistle prompted scenes of joy among the relieved Birkirkara players and fans as this hard-earned win kept their title dream very much alive.

Birkirkara
J. Haber-6.5, E. Herrera-6, N. Vukanac-6, A. Mendoza-6, J. Zerafa-6.5 (68 R. Camenzuli-5), R. Pereira-6 (74 Jhonnattann), R. Muscat-6, G. Sciberras-6, P. Fenech-7, J.P. Mifsud Triganza-6 (81 Z. Muscat), S. Haruna-6.5.

Tarxien Rainbows
N. Vella-7, C. Mamo-6.5, M. Caruana-7, Andrezinho-6, Leandro-7, R. Sammut-5 (58 S. Sadowski-5), M. Tanti-5 (46 J. Grioli-6), D.M. Bueno-5.5, B. Timotic, O. Anonam-5.5 (85 D. Fenech), S. Bonnici-5.5.

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: Zerafa; Timotic; Sadowski.

Red card: Timotic (T) 62.

BOV player of the match: Shola Shodiya Haruna (Birkirkara).

Attendance: 1,987.